Not Too Busy To Write

Stacey Heale is a fashion academic and writer whose husband Greg was diagnosed with terminal cancer when their youngest daughter was just a baby. Greg died 5 years later. In her memoir Now Is Not The Time For Flowers, Stacey writes about the big conversations that arise from imminent death. In this epsiode Stacey and I talk about writing about the dead, abandoning the typical memoir structure and the very funny side of a very dark experience. Now Is Not The Time For Flowers is out March 28thLinksNow Is Not The Time For Flowers - Stacey HealeStacey Heale on Instagram @stacey_healeNot Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

Jesse Sutanto is the best selling author of Dial A for Aunties and Vera Wang's Unsolicited Advise for Murders and the winner of the Comic Writer in Print Award 2021. Jesse and I chat about her latest book in her very funny Aunties crime series The Good, The Bad and The Auntie, about her journey from Oxford MFA in Creative Writing, to leaning into her irreverent funny side and the success it led to. We also talk about writing drafts in 5 weeks (yes 5 weeks!!), the joy of sharing her Indo-Chinese culture with the rest fo the world and her favourite funny authors.LinksThe Good, The Bad and The Aunties - Jesse SutantoDial A For Aunties - Jesse SutantoVera Wang's Unsolicited Advice for Murders - Jesse SutantoJesse Sutanto on Instagram @jesseqsutantoNot Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.comWrite Your Non-Fiction Book Proposal with Penny Wincer is at 7pm March 27th Book you place here - pennywincerwrites.com/workshopsPodcast listeners can use the code TOOBUSY at checkout to receive £5 off

Charlotte Wood is an award winning Australian author of 10 books including the 2016 Stella Prize winner The Natural Way of Things and the 2020 international bestseller The Weekend. Her latest novel Stone Yard Devotional is about a woman who abandons her life, her marriage, her career and retreats to a religious community in a remote area of Australia, where she grew up. Charlotte and I talk about the themes that come up in her work, how her craft has changed over the course of her career, why it's so important to her to not over explain to the reader and of course, her favourite Australian fiction writers.LinksStone Yard Devotional - Charlotte WoodThe Weekend - Charlotte WoodThe Natural Way of Things - Charlotte WoodThe Writers Room - Charlotte WoodThe Slap - Christos TsiolkasThe Golden Age - Joan LondonThe Good Parents - Joan LondonThe Conversion - Amanda LohreyCharlotte Wood's Substack - charlottewood.substack.comcharlottewoodauthor.com.auNot Too Busy To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

Tamu Thomas is a transformational coach whose debut book Women Who Work Too Much helps over-achieving, over-functioning women set boundaries, find joy and flourish. In this conversation we talk about natural (rather than toxic) productivity, radical rest and why work (not over work) can be a positive thing. This is such an important conversation for those of us who are writers and have blurred boundaries between work, rest and play.LinksWomen Who Work Too Much - Tamu ThomasTamu on Instagram @tamu.thomasTamu on TikTok @tamu_thomasBook your place on the Non-fiction Book Proposal Workshop 27th March 2024 7pm Discount code for podcast listeners - TOOBUSY pennywincerwrites.com/workshopsNot Too Busy to Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.com

Author Bijal Shah is a trained Bibliotherapist who brings the power of reading into the therapy room. It's a technique that dates back to Ancient Greece and Bijal shares some of the tools and techniques she uses in todays episode. Certain that reading is a big part of your mental wellbeing? You will love this episode which does a deep dive into why books matter and how we can get the most out of our reading experience.LinksBibliotherapy: The healing power of reading by Bijal ShahBijal Shah's websiteNot Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.com

Amy Arthur is an award winning writer and science journalist whose new book Pace Yourself is a practical guide to pacing - a tool developed to the manage symptoms of chronic illnesses like ME/CFS which Amy was diagnosed with as a teenager. This is such an important (and practical) conversation, not just for those who are managing chronic illnesses but for any writer juggling writing alongside many other responsibilities, who constantly feel like they never have quite enough energy.LinksPace Yourself - Amy ArthurAmy Arthur on Instagram @a_e_arthurNot Too Busy To Write on Substack pennywincer.substack.comPenny on Instagram @pennywincer

Jessica Bull's debut novel Miss Austen Investigates sets Jane Austen up as an amateur sleuth, when a dead woman is discovered at a ball and her beloved brother is arrested and facing the noose. I had so much fun talking to Jessica about the challenges of blending fact and fiction, her passion of Jane Austen (and the books and films that have been inspired by her) and the pleasures of researching late Georgian England. Miss Austen Investigates is a delight and is out nowLinksMiss Austen Investigates - Jessica BullJessica Bull on Instagram @jessicabullnovelistJessica Bull on Twitter @NovelistJessicaNot Too Bust To Write on Substack - pennywincer.substack.comBook coaching with Penny Wincer - pennywincerwrites.com

Katherine May is the Sunday Times and New York Times best selling author of Enchantment. Today we talk about the challenges of writing a follow up to her phenomenal bestseller Wintering, the importance of writers being open about the constraints they face, especially successful authors and advocating for accessibility while promoting your work. We also do a deep dive into Substack and why Katherine loves it so much and the importance of writers getting paid for their work.linksEnchantment - Katherine MayWintering - Katherine MayThe Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine MayThe Clearing - Katherine's SubstackKatherine May's Accessibility and Language GuideNot Too Busy To Write on SubstackPenny Wincer's book coaching - pennywincerwrites.com

Marisa Bate is a freelance journalist, women's rights advocate and author of Wild Hope. Part memoir, part reportage and part social history, Wild Hope tells the story of expanding and contracting women's rights in America through two bus journey's across the mid west - one by Marisa's mother in the 70s and the other, by Marisa in 2021. In this episode Marisa talks about finding hope in dark times, keeping faith in action and writing your own story when it so intertwined with the stories of others.LinksWild Hope - Marisa BateWriting About Women - Marisa Bate's substackNot Too Busy To Write on SubstackNon-fiction writing coaching with Penny - pennywincerwrites.comPenny on instagram @pennywincer

Laura Bates is a Sunday Times Bestselling author, an activist and speaker. Laura founded the Everyday Sexism Project in 2012 and has gone on to write multiple best selling non-fiction books about gender equality. She has spoken in the United Nations, the Houses of Parliament, is regularly called on to provide evidence for parliamentary reports and has been awarded a British Empire Medal for her work on gender equality. Laura also writes Young Adult fiction and today we are discussing her latest novel Sisters of Sword and Shadow and why she's so passionate about writing for young people, the incredible power of storytelling and why activism needs fiction as well as non-fiction. LinksSisters of Sword and Shadow - Laura BatesFix the System, Not the Women - Laura BatesMen Who Hate Women - Laura BatesEveryday Sexism - Laura BatesThe Burning - Laura BatesGlitch Charity - Promoting Online Safety for women and girls Not Too Busy To Write on Substack Penny on Instagram @pennywincer